Signature requirements for ballot measures in Mississippi
This page details signature requirements for statewide ballot measures in Mississippi.
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Note on Mississippi:
Mississippi has an initiated constitutional amendment process, including a signature distribution requirement based on five congressional districts. However, the requirements cannot be met, according to the Mississippi Supreme Court, because the state has four congressional districts following reapportionment in 2001.[1]
Mississippi only allows initiated constitutional amendments. Initiative or referendum for statutes is not permitted.
Signature requirements
According to Mississippi law, the number of signatures collected to qualify an indirect initiated constitutional amendment must be equal to at least 12 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor in the last gubernatorial general election immediately preceding the signature deadline—not necessarily the gubernatorial election immediately preceding the targeted election date.
The signature requirements for an initiative must be determined before the signatures are submitted and verified by county officials and the secretary of state. Since signature petitions must be certified according to the state's requirements by early October of the year preceding the targeted legislative session and election year, the signature requirements determined by any given gubernatorial election first take effect for initiatives targeting the election three years later.[2]
For example, the number of valid signatures required to qualify an initiative for the 2010 ballot was 89,285—based on turnout at the 2007 gubernatorial election. The number of valid signatures required to qualify an initiative for the 2016 ballot was 107,216—based on turnout at the 2011 gubernatorial election since signatures would have been due in October of 2015, prior to the 2015 gubernatorial election.
The chart below shows election years and the signature requirement for initiatives designed to appear on the ballot in that year, with gubernatorial election years bolded.
| Election Year | Initiated constitutional amendment |
|---|---|
| 2028 | 98,520 |
| 2027 | 98,520 |
| 2026 | 98,520 |
| 2025 | no election |
| 2024 | 106,190 |
| 2023 | 106,190 |
| 2022 | 106,190 |
| 2021 | No election |
| 2020 | 86,185 |
| 2019 | 86,185 |
| 2018 | 86,185 |
| 2017 | No election |
| 2016 | 107,216 |
| 2015 | 107,216 |
| 2014 | 107,216 |
| 2013 | No election |
| 2012 | 89,285 |
| 2011 | 89,285 |
| 2010 | 89,285 |
| 2009 | No election |
| 2008 | 107,338 |
| 2007 | 107,338 |
| 2006 | 107,338 |
| 2005 | No election |
See law: Mississippi Constitution, Article XV, Section 273 (3)
Changes in number of required signatures
The chart below shows the change in the number of signatures required for Mississippi initiated constitutional amendments.
Basis for calculation
Signature requirements in Mississippi depend on how many votes were cast for all candidates for the office of Mississippi governor in the state's most recent gubernatorial election. The state also has a geographic distribution requirement.
The following numbers of votes were cast for the position of governor in each year listed:[3]
| Year | Votes cast for governor |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 821,000 |
| 2019 | 884,911[4] |
| 2015 | 718,185 |
| 2011 | 893,468 |
| 2007 | 744,039 |
Geographic distribution
- See also: Distribution requirement
Note on Mississippi:
Mississippi has an initiated constitutional amendment process, including a signature distribution requirement based on five congressional districts. However, the requirements cannot be met, according to the Mississippi Supreme Court, because the state has four congressional districts following reapportionment in 2001.[5]
According to Section 273, Paragraph (3) of the Mississippi Constitution, "The signatures of the qualified electors from any congressional district shall not exceed one-fifth (1/5) of the total number of signatures required to qualify an initiative petition for placement upon the ballot. If an initiative petition contains signatures from a single congressional district which exceed one-fifth (1/5) of the total number of required signatures, the excess number of signatures from that congressional district shall not be considered by the Secretary of State in determining whether the petition qualifies for placement on the ballot."
In 1992, when initiative and referendum were established in Mississippi, the state had five congressional districts, which meant that signatures had to be collected evenly from all five districts, proportional to voter turnout in the districts. During 2001 redistricting, however, the number of congressional districts in the state was reduced to four. Thus, it would appear that only four-fifths of the required signatures for an initiative petition could be legally validated. A 2009 attorney general opinion stated that the distribution requirement applies to the five congressional districts as they existed previously. The state set the congressional district map in effect in 2000 as the operational distribution requirement map.
- For the election years from 2018 through 2020, an initiative required at least 17,237 signatures from each congressional district as they existed in 2000—Mississippi had five congressional districts in 2000.
- For the election years from 2014 through 2016, an initiative required at least 21,443 signatures from each congressional district as they existed in 2000—Mississippi had five congressional districts in 2000.
- For the election years from 2010 through 2012, an initiative required at least 17,857 signatures from each congressional district as they existed in 2000—Mississippi had five congressional districts in 2000.
Deadlines
Beginning with the day the sponsor receives the ballot title and summary, proponents have one year to circulate petitions and receive certification from the county circuit clerks. Signatures must be submitted to the secretary of state at least 90 days prior to the beginning of the regular session—which begins in the first week of January. Signature petition sheets must be submitted to and certified by county officials prior to submission to the secretary of state. Petitioners are recommended to coordinate with county elections officials to determine when signatures must be submitted to county officials in order to meet the early October (of the preceding year) deadline for submission to the secretary of state.
On May 14, 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned Initiative 65, the 2020 medical marijuana initiative. The ruling stated that the initiative petition did not comply with the signature distribution requirements in the Mississippi Constitution and that it is impossible for any petition to meet the requirements and has been impossible since congressional reapportionment in 2001.
The six justices wrote, "... Whether with intent, by oversight, or for some other reason, the drafters of [the constitutional signature distribution requirement] wrote a ballot initiative process that cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress. To work in today’s reality, it will need amending—something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court."[6]
The 1992 constitutional amendment that granted the power of citizen initiative in Mississippi required signatures to be collected evenly from all five congressional districts that existed at the time. It mandated no more than one-fifth of the required signatures could be collected from any single congressional district. During 2001 redistricting after the 2000 census, however, the number of congressional districts in the state was reduced to four.
Sponsors of some initiatives targeting the 2022 ballot in Mississippi filed a lawsuit challenging the Supreme Court's ruling.[7]
Click here for more information on the lawsuit and the ruling.
2022
Signatures must be submitted to the secretary of state at least 90 days prior to the beginning of the regular session—which begins in the first week of January, which means signatures are due in early October 2021.
2020
The 2020 regular session of the Mississippi legislative session convened on January 7, 2020, meaning signatures must have been submitted for 2020 initiatives on October 9, 2019.
2019
The 2019 regular session of the Mississippi legislative session was set to begin on January 8, 2019, giving a signature deadline of October 10, 2018.
2018
The 2018 regular session of the Mississippi legislative session was set to begin on January 2, 2018, giving a signature deadline of October 4, 2017.
2016
- See also: Petition drive deadlines, 2016
The 2016 Mississippi legislative session was scheduled to convene on January 5, 2016, providing a signature deadline of October 7, 2015.
2015
The signature submission deadline was October 8, 2014, since the legislature convened on the planned date of January 6, 2015.[8]
2014
For a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment to be placed on the 2014 ballot, petitions must be filed with the Secretary of State not less than ninety (90) days before the first day of the regular session of the Legislature at which it is to be submitted.[9]
2011
The deadline to submit signatures for a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment on the 2011 ballot was October 4, 2010, which was 90 days before the 2011 legislative session convened.[10]
See also
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Mississippi
- States where signature requirements are based on votes cast for governor
- Laws governing the initiative process in Mississippi
- List of Mississippi ballot measures
- Election result resources
- Voter guides
- State Blue Books
External links
- Initiative Process in Mississippi, an overview from the Secretary of State
- Mississippi signature requirements collated by the Citizens in Charge Foundation
- Mississippi Elections Division
- Elections Calendar 2012
- Mississippi Candidate Qualifying Guide 2012
- Candidate Qualifications 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ Mississippi Supreme Court, "In Re Initiative Measure No. 65: Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler V Michael Watson, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of State for the State of Mississippi," May 14, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "Mississippi's Initiative Process," accessed December 1, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "Election results," accessed February 16, 2017
- ↑ Missisippi Secretary of State, "2019 certified election results," accessed December 13, 2019
- ↑ Mississippi Supreme Court, "In Re Initiative Measure No. 65: Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler V Michael Watson, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of State for the State of Mississippi," May 14, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Supreme Court, "IN RE INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 65: MAYOR MARY HAWKINS BUTLER v MICHAEL WATSON, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI," accessed May 14, 2021
- ↑ WMC Action News, "Challenge filed to Mississippi Supreme Court’s ruling on Initiative 65," accessed June 3, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "Initiative Guide," accessed December 16, 2014
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "2014 Initiative Guide," accessed November 19, 2013
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff member, "Telephone correspondence with MS Secretary of State," January 25, 2011
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